Falling Leaves
by AquaStarlight
Summary: Medieval/fairytale AU. There were once beings who were known to nurture and protect the forests in which they lived. Now they are nothing but stories of a time long past. However, when the forest bordering Viridian becomes too wild for safe passage, something must be done to tame it, and an event occurs that turns the young prince's world upside down. Specialshipping. [two-shot]


"Viridian Forest is too unsafe! I can't travel through it to sell my merchandise to Viridian without a swarm of beedrill chasing after me!"

"And I can't take my produce to Pewter from Viridian without losing half of it to the damn rattata and pikachu while I'm sleeping!"

"My children can't play there either! It's far too dangerous!"

"The inside is like a maze! How can I not get lost in there?"

"Alright, alright!" a young man exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table. "Quiet down. It's well known that Viridian Forest is virtually untamed. Any ideas as to what we should do?" he asked, his crimson eyes scanning over the crowd of villagers before him.

A long-haired brunette near the back of the crowd raised her hand. Her bright blue eyes sparkled mysteriously in the dim light. The man motioned for her to speak. "Yes?" he asked.

"Perhaps creating a path through the forest would solve the problem, my lord?" she innocently suggested.

* * *

"Slash."

A quick flash of red preceded the trunk of a tree splitting open; the wood splintered with a sound akin to sparks flying off a wizard's wand, and the trunk slowly leaned farther and farther to the left until…

_Crash._

The collision sent leaves of all colors of the sun spiraling through the air, gliding down to the forest floor through the unseen patterns of the wind.

A young man approached the fallen tree, leaves crackling under his footsteps. He examined the serrated edge of the end of the log attentively, his sharp eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Acceptable," he said in a clipped tone, turning back to face the pokemon behind him, "but less power next time—more speed. Too much claw and your results will continue to be as sloppy as this."

The scizor in front of him bowed, closing its eyes as a sign of respect before its master.

"Try again," the man ordered, flicking a longer strand of brown hair away from his eyes as he motioned to another tree nearby. All around the two stood a clearing of fallen trees, and the scizor was quick to add a new one to the group.

As the dirt and dust from the second tree settled, the sound of approaching footsteps signaled a new arrival. The brunet turned just in time to see a cheerful looking young man enter the clearing, and signaled for his scizor to stand at attention as the other man approached.

Bowing lowly, the brunet greeted the new arrival with a courtly, "My lord, what brings you so far into the forest?"

Wrinkling his nose, the young man replied, "Ah, Green, stop it with the titles, will you? When we are alone I am nothing more than your friend and you should call me by my name as such." He ran a hand through his black hair and thoughtfully added, "Besides, I prefer not being called by any titles."

Closing his eyes to hide an eye role, Green stood back up and with a fairly irked expression on his face and responded, "Fine, Red. But I am curious as to why you've come all the out here into the middle of Viridian Forest."

"Because I wanted to check up on how the progress of clearing a path through the forest was going," Red merrily replied. "It looks fantastic so far—but that's no surprise since it's you who's making it. I still have to thank you for doing this, you know."

Green shrugged and motioned for his scizor to get back to work. Then he turned back to Red with his arms crossed over his chest. "It's good training for my pokemon, and it's not like I have anything else to do," he explained.

"No practicing magic or anything?" Red questioned, raising an eyebrow at the man. "Surely after being ranked as such a powerful wizard you practice often."

"Not necessarily. Once magic is mastered it is fairly easy to use," the brunet said disinterestedly, using a small flick of his wrist to levitate one of the fallen trees to prove his point. "Scizor needs to work on his accuracy anyways, and these trees are useful targets."

"Yeah, but…" Red's eyelids slowly lowered over his crimson eyes as he approached one of the trees and placed his hand on the smooth bark. "…taking down these trees is such a shame," he said, counting fourteen rings on the tree—fourteen years the tree had been alive. "I mean, I'm happy that creating this path will allow a safe passage from Viridian to Pewter for the people, but I don't want to harm so many trees…"

Green turned away, a thoughtful look in his eye. "Perhaps," he murmured.

As Green and his scizor set back to work on cutting down trees, Red took in a moment to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the forest.

He sighed; as much as he loved being the "Prince" (chosen by the people), sometimes it was nice to get away from the witches and wizards of the court and mingle with the villagers he had grown up with, as well as getting away from the unbearably vain and conceited king, Lance—who he was not related to in any way, despite their titles.

Although he himself was unable to use magic in a world filled with magical power, he made up for that with his impressive ability to work well with and understand his pokemon. This had allowed him to rank amongst the world's most powerful wizards—including his rival/friend, Green, whom he had known since adolescence—in terms of strength.

_Where is Pika anyways?_ he thought to himself, glancing around as he searched for his yellow-furred companion. _I could have sworn he came into the forest with me…_

"Pika pi!"

Thinking he had heard his pikachu, Red turned to face the direction of the sound, and yes, there _was_ a pikachu digging around next to one of the fallen trees across the clearing, but it wasn't his. This one was unfamiliar; it definitely wasn't his male pikachu—it was a female if the flower behind its ear meant anything—although he might have mistaken it for his if he was any farther away.

Nearby, Green's scizor slashed at a tree trunk with deadly aim and precision, cutting out large chunks at a time and quickly whittling away one side of the trunk.

Red was suddenly aware of how quiet the surrounding forest was aside from the sound of scizor, but the silence was soon broken when the pikachu once again cried out.

"Uh, Green?" The red-eyed man started towards his friend. "Is it just me, or is there something strange about that pikachu?" he questioned, watching the pikachu dig furiously at the soil underneath the tree.

Green barely glanced at the mouse. "No." His reply was impassive.

"Green…" Red pressed, keeping one eye on the mouse.

"Scizor, finish it," the brunet commanded, ignoring the young prince.

With one last attack, the scizor tore through the already frail part of the trunk, and slowly, it started to pitch over, over, over…

The pikachu looked up and saw the tree falling, causing her to let out a shrill squeak. Some of the dirt beside her moved and then the little head of a rattata popped out, followed by another.

Red estimated the angle of the tree's fall and his eyes widened as horror hit him like a punch to the gut. "Green, stop!" he yelled. The emerald-eyed man gave him an inquiring look, but seeing that the wizard had no idea what was going on, Red had already taken action.

"Look out, little pikachu!" he yelled, diving towards the pokemon. The little mouse looked startled but hastily picked up the youngest rattata and carried it out of the way before going back to grab another.

The tree fell with the loud splintering of wood, and just as it began to fall over the pokemon Red stepped over them, bracing himself for the pain that was soon to come once the tree struck his back. The little pokemon huddled underneath him, staring up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but the pain never came. He waited, and waited, and waited, wondering if his adrenaline was making time seem to go slower and slower until…

"Quit standing there like an idiot and get out from under that tree," Green finally told him, and Red opened his eyes to find the tree hovering a few inches about his head. The tree was incased in a bright green light akin to the light glowing from Green's eyes, which held a look of irritation in them as they gazed at Red.

"Sorry," he sheepishly apologized as he stepped out of the way. The pokemon were about to follow him when Green started to set the log down, causing them to shriek in fear.

"Green—!" Red began, about to warn the boy.

"_Stop!_" a cry rang out around them, and even the pokemon stopped crying to fixate their attention on the owner of the voice.

The two men turned, and both were equally surprised to see a tiny, petite girl about a year or so younger than them standing at the edge of the clearing with a Pikachu by her side. She was dressed in unfamiliar clothing—certainly not native to Viridian or Pewter—and her hair was blonde and very long, tied back into a ponytail that swished behind her in the light breeze. She had bangs that were short enough not to obscure her eyes—which were the color of a gentle green.

Red stared at her, transfixed on her; there was something about her—the way she held herself, how she stood; there was a certain look in her eyes he couldn't describe and it captivated him.

"Who are you?" Green called out, his eyes narrowed at the girl as she took a step towards them, but she ignored him and continued forward.

For a second Red thought that she was walking towards him, and was absolutely flustered until she brushed passed him and ran straight towards the pokemon. A moment later his pikachu jumped on to his shoulder, and he was so startled that he jumped a few inches into the air.

"When did you…?" he confusedly began before his delayed mind caught up with him and he realized that his pikachu had arrived with this mysterious girl. He spun around to watch as the blonde approached the pokemon.

"Are you all alright?" she worriedly asked as she sank down to her knees next to the rattata. The pikachu wearing a flower tapped her arm and started squeaking to her. "What is it, Chuchu?" she murmured, resting a hand on the pikachu's head. She closed her eyes and a faint blue light emitted from her hand.

"Oh," she said, her eyes popping open and flitting over to one of the rattata that was holding its paw above the ground. "Are you injured, little one? Let me heal you," she murmured gently to one of the rattata, calming it enough to let it allow her to touch its head. Once again a blue light emitted from her hand and before all the witnesses' eyes it started to look at little better— less ruffled; less panicked; and was Red imagining it, or was its paw actually _healing_?

"My Arceus, what in the name of Mew…" Green blinked in astonishment. "Who _are_ you?" he barked at the girl.

Once the glow faded she stood up, pikachu jumping on to her shoulder, and whipped around to glare at the two men. For such a small girl Red wouldn't have expected her to look so furious, but even with her enraged expression she didn't look like a violent person.

"_You_ have no right to ask who I am," she snapped at him. "If anything, I should be asking you that for intruding in this forest. Tearing down these trees is— is—it's unacceptable! You're harming the ecosystem and destroying all the homes of the pokemon! Get out! _Get out now!_"

Her voice broke at the end, and in her eyes Red could clearly see the anger and suffering displayed within them. The pokemon hid behind her legs, and for a moment all of them—human and pokemon—looked so lost and exhausted that it make Red feel guilty.

Meanwhile, Green looked like he was about ready to launch a rebuttal at the girl and start an argument, so Red hastily stepped in before he could.

"We sincerely apologize for all the harm we have done," he began, not having to force himself to sound guilty as he already was, "but we must continue work on the path. I am terribly sorry. The citizens of Viridian and Pewter cannot pass safely through the forest…"

"You're harming the forest, though." The girl's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She looked tiny and fragile now that her anger had faded. "I can feel it, and the pokemon can too. It hurts."

Red's brow furrowed. He had no idea how to reply to such a weird claim.

Green, however, was quick to resume his interrogation. "Who are you?" he demanded once again. "And what type of magic were you just using?"

Her gaze flitted around the clearing, and she scuffed her—bare, Red noticed—feet against the ground as she bit her lip. The man noticed how hesitant she looked.

"It was….um…." she mumbled. "Heal magic. Oh, and…uhh…telepathy…"

"Where did you learn them?" Red couldn't help but exclaim, terribly curious. Both forms of her magic were extremely rare, and he could hardly believe her words despite what he had seen just a minute prior.

The girl looked flustered, and as her cheeks flushed a bright pink she stuttered out, "I-I was born with them…"

Green narrowed his eyes at her. "What race are you? What species of magical being, because you're certainly not a human."

Red blinked and glanced at Green, a _How-do-you-know-she's-not-a-human?_ look in his eyes. Green simply quirked an eyebrow at him and motioned to his ear. For some reason Red couldn't quite get the connection until he looked over at the girl and upon a closer inspection, he realized that her ears were abnormally long and pointed at the end.

_What in the name of Arceus…?_ he thought to himself in confusion. He'd seen many magical creatures before—pixies; nymphs; hell, even a unicorn he nearly mistook for a rapidash—but never one like her. _Perhaps an elf?_ he speculated. _But no, the elves went extinct…_

The girl looked very conflicted at this point, but after a moment of very thoughtful consideration she looked up and made direct eye contact with the two men.

"I am the last elf of Viridian," she boldly proclaimed, "and the guardian of this forest."

_…or maybe not._

* * *

ahahaha what the hell am I writing

ALSO HAPPY B-DAY NOPROB101 THIS STORY IS COMPLETELY WRITTEN FOR/DEDICATED TO YOU, GIRL. :'D

(it would be longer and have more Specialshipping goodness if I wasn't so lazy and was all like, "Hey, let's make everyone magical creatures!" but then got totally distracted by the entire idea. XD BUT HEY, THAT'S WHY I'M MAKING IT INTO A TWO-SHOT, RIGHT?

Anyways happy b-day again 101 and for anyone else who's reading this, I hope you enjoyed. :')

-AquaStarlight


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